Rafael Nadal
(2nd) managed to clear up all the unknowns that were hovering around him.
After a bad start to the season with two straight defeats in the United Cup, he arrived in Melbourne with uncertainty about his game and, at the same time, with the obligation to defend the title won in 2022 to stay on top of the ranking.
However, the Spaniard managed to overcome the difficult Jack Draper (38th) 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 and 6-1 at the start of
the Australian Open
.
Now, beyond everything that happened on the field in the long-distance rallies and in the exchanges of styles against the British left-hander, Rafa experienced a curious situation in the middle of the match.
When the match was 4-3 up on the scoreboard during the first set, the Spaniard went to look for a racket to be able to change it, since there was a change of balls.
However, he noticed a small problem:
he had forgotten the bag with most of his work tools.
But that was not all, then he asked a ball boy if he could take the racket to string it with another tension and
the boy grabbed the wrong
one .
Once aware of the situation, Rafa -between laughs- notified the umpire of what had happened and anxiously awaited the return of his main weapon.
Nadal beat Draper.
(AP)
"It didn't distract me, but it was a funny situation. I always look at the number of rackets, because I maintain some control. I have to see the stringing, the tension and I needed the tension of the other racket.
And he took the racket that he was going to use , but in the end it was all an anecdote
, "he said.
And he added in a chat with Eurosport: "I am very meticulous with this. However, today I made a mistake and had the wrong one, the one I had ready to play, be strung up. Luckily, they brought it to me on time."
On the other hand, Nadal evaluated how the match ended physically: "I've been working hard in recent weeks on a physical level so that the results end up coming. Today was a breakthrough for me and I won an important game. When you work, the results come. As I said, physically I'm not bad. And when you are confident and hit without thinking, you position yourself better on the pitch".
How do you follow the path of Nadal in Australia?
Another victory for Rafa in Australia, where he defends the title.
(EFE)
Surprisingly, Rafa should not face Brandon Nakashima (49th), one of the most dangerous Next Gen on the circuit and who has already won ATP titles, in the second round, but
will do so with Mackenzie McDonald (65th)
.
The 27-year-old American prevailed over the 21-year-old by a more than even score: it was 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1), 1-6, 6-7 (10) and 6-4 in 4h6m.
look also
He is 17 years old and is trained by an Argentine: Juncheng Shang, from kicking out Marcelo Ríos to being the first Chinese to win at the Australian Open
Unforgettable Australian Open: Francisco Cerúndolo and Tomás Etcheverry achieved their first victory in a Grand Slam
